“Sorry about that,” I said softly, leaning into him. “I had to let Timothy win.”
Noah glanced down at me before he pushed his hand through his hair, spraying water droplets all around him. “No worries,” he said.
I gave him a soft smile and a nod before I turned to find my son. Timothy and Bash were celebrating in the shallow end, so I moved to join him. I lifted him out of the water and snuggled him. I’d lose again and again if it meant I could witness the look of pure joy on his face.
We spent the rest of the night playing a few more games of chicken—with Abigail on Bash’s shoulders and Timothy on Noah’s. I chose to sit them out, claiming that I wanted to watch.
Timothy started to yawn, so I called it a night and headed for the showers. Once I was dressed in warm clothes, I headed out of the locker room to see Noah, Bash, and Abigail were waiting for me with a sleepy Timothy between them.
Noah and I rode with Abigail, and Bash drove Timothy. By the time I climbed into bed, Timothy was passed out. I closed my eyes and forced my brain to sleep.
Today had been an eventful day. Between Rex and Noah, I’d definitely put my nervous system to the test. I’d pushed myself out of my comfort zone and survived.
Which meant, tomorrow, I could do more.
Not because I wanted to. I had to.
16
LIAM
Knock, knock, knock.
My entire body jolted, startling me awake. I blinked against the early morning light streaming through the hotel windows. I turned my head to the left and then started to turn it to the right when I was met with dark hair that tickled my nose.
Sabrina.
Memories from last night flooded my mind, grounding me in the present. I was sitting on the couch in my hotel room with Sabrina fast asleep on my chest. I must have passed out while she was talking about different outfits that assistants normally wore, and instead of her getting up and heading to bed…she’d passed out on me as well.
My chest swelled at the realization as my arm tightened around her shoulders. It felt so good having her tucked in next to me. She was soft and warm and smelled like apples.
It had been so long since I’d snuggled with a woman. It had been so long since there’d been a woman I wanted to snuggle with. Being this close to Sabrina was doing things to me. She was a drug, and I feared I was now fully addicted.
This was dangerous.
Knock, knock, knock.
I paused and then glanced over my shoulder toward the door. The knocking came again, this time more insistent. Sabrina must have heard the knocking as well because she was starting to move.
“Samuel?” she asked as she slowly sat up. She blinked a few times as she looked around. When her gaze landed on me, her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed. “Oh my gosh,” she whispered as her hand flew up to her face and she started wiping at her lips. “I’m so sorry I fell asleep on you.” She scrambled to stand, her gaze remaining on me. I watched in real time as panic set in and she whipped her gaze toward the bedroom. “Samuel,” she exclaimed as she made her way over to the open door.
With Sabrina gone, I moved to stand. I stretched quickly before I walked over to the door. The knocking was constant now. Whoever was on the other side really wanted to get in.
I passed by the bedroom and saw Sabrina hugging Samuel. Our gazes met and she gave me a relieved smile.
“He slept through the night.” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “First time,” she whispered.
I smiled at her. God, I loved that kid. And when I was ready to admit it to myself, I knew I was falling for that woman just as hard.
I shook my head as I unlocked the door. I needed to get those thoughts from my mind and focus on whomever was behind the door. I hadn’t ordered breakfast yet, so it couldn’t be George with our food. The only other person it could be was Bonnie, so I steeled my nerves for whatever she had for me this early in the morning.
I pulled open the door and froze.
There, standing next to a very apologetic Bonnie, was…Katie.
I frowned. “Wha—what are you doing here?” I asked, my brain struggling to process what I was seeing. I glanced over to Bonnie. She mouthed, I’m sorry, before I turned my attention back to my ex.
“Took you long enough to answer the door,” Katie said as she folded her arms and shifted her weight to one hip. “What were you doing?” She narrowed her eyes.
